Monday, February 11, 2008

Ladies and Gentleman...

Your 2008 NFL Pro Bowl M-V-P....

ADRIAN "PURPLE JESUS" PETERSON!!!!!!!

Ok, I'll be honest--I didn't watch the Pro Bowl last night. I don't know anyone who did. Personally, I was watching Washington upset UCLA. That being said, it's good to see Peterson look like his dominant self again. I know, I know, it was the Pro Bowl, and that most of the recaps referenced flag football in their descriptions, but still. Watch the highlights. Tell me you don't see the Adrian Peterson that dominated San Diego and Chicago.

The best part? The second rookie to win Pro Bowl MVP (Marshall Faulk was the first) is going to get better. Coach Childress has pinpointed the two areas that Peterson needs to improve in, and if Peterson can do so, well folks, he's going to be even better than he is now. And both Peterson's pass protection and how deals with 8 and 9 man fronts are areas he can improve on. The former kept our biggest threat off the field in passing plays, and Peterson's issues with the latter are why he averaged only 2.7 yards per carry in his last four games. It looked as if he was trying to break every run for a touchdown rather than hitting the hole quickly and trying to pick up as much yardage as possible and that hurt the Vikings, considering how important it was to to the offense to pick up 3-4 yards on first down.

I fully expect Peterson to improve in those two areas and become a complete back. Considering how well he played as a rookie, there's no reason not to.